Colombian slugger Breidis “The Khanqueror” Prescott (24-3, 19 KOs) can’t help but feel wronged by the controversial loss he suffered Saturday against Paul McCloskey (23-1, 12 KOs) in the Irishman’s backyard, the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Fighting in a 12-round WBA light welterweight elimination bout, Prescott knocked McCloskey down, bloodied his nose, won a wide majority of the rounds and had him out on his feet at the final bell.
Despite that, the exclusively European officials turned in verdicts of 114-113, 114-113, and 115-113 for McCloskey.
“He would miss me completely or hit my gloves and the crowd would roar and the people at ringside would jump to their feet in ecstasy, screaming and yelling right behind the judges. I guess they were swayed by that, but let’s be clear. I did more than enough to win this fight anywhere but here in Ireland.”
Boxing writers and fans across the Internet would seem to agree, as news sites and forums are abuzz with opinions ranging from disappointment to outrage with the scoring.
“When they were about to read the scores, the only question was how much did Breidis win by,” said Prescott’s co-promoter, Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing. “He landed the harder, cleaner shots and hurt McCloskey several times. Unfortunately, this wasn’t as surprising as it should be. It’s very tough to win on road, which is bad for boxing in the long run.”
One person watching the fight who probably breathed a sigh of relief after the bad decision: WBA Light Welterweight Champion Amir Khan, whom Prescott has already destroyed once.
“I guess Khan is happy now because now he can avoid me longer,” said Prescott. “I would love a McCloskey rematch on neutral ground, but after beating he took, I doubt he would fight me again.”
